Him
by Tempokeep
Summary: *discontinued* Its about a bet, a few weird events, and plot This is a work in progress im constantly adding stuff. Expect like once a week at least. Chapters start off short, they get longer. I promise. Also it starts off really bad but gets better. I promise. EDIT: Doesn't get better. This story stays on my profile to make sure this never happens again.
1. chapter 1

Chapter 1: A Deal's a Deal

Miette wasn't waiting any longer.

She had liked Ash for a while, but when Serena was asked to go on the journey with Ash, she gave up. She decided it was best that the two of them end up together.

But nothing was happening between them. It was like two people who were basically dating but were never actually making any progress and never became official. It bugged her and it bugged Ash's companions that nothing was happening.

So Miette took matters into her own hands.

She knocked on Serena's door, and took a deep breath. She didn't want to hurt their friendship but this had gone too far, or in essence nowhere at all. She came prepared with a deal that Serena couldn't refuse.

Serena just woke up. Who's knocking on her door so early? She quickly tossed some clothes on, slid into the first pair of shoes she found, and tiredly walked toward the door.

She opened the door, to see Miette waiting there. It was nothing strange, they had been friends since childhood. But something seemed very different today. Miette was very upset. "Hey, Miette! What's wrong? You don't look so great."

Miette took a deep breath. "Ok. Look, I've been pretty tolerant, and you know that."

Serena seemed confused. "Tolerant about what? I'm not sure what you mean." Serena knew exactly what she meant. She knew Miette likes Ash. And she knew Miette gave up her chance when Ash asked her to go on the journey with him.

Miette inhaled again. "You know what I mean. I've basically LET you have Ash, and you've done nothing! I'm getting really sick of it, and I've decided I'm doing something about it." The words came out strange, but Miette was in no mood to play nice anymore.

Also it was early.

Serena was tired, but she knew where this was going. She couldn't let Miette have Ash. After all, SHE was the one who was selected to go on the journey with him. She knew her chances were greater than anyone he's been with, including that Latias. "Listen, Miette. I know what you want. What do you mean, 'doing something about it'?"

"I'll have you know exactly my plan," Miette said triumphantly. "Either you're gonna tell Ash how you feel,"

"Or what?"

"Or," Miette said with a smirk on her face, slightly blushing. "I'll have a similar conversation with Ash. Similar to the one you have yet to have with him."

Serena was shocked. Had she really waited that long? But she knew Miette wasn't kidding. "How long do I have, Miette? You know how nervous I am around him, and I have a huge contest coming up."

Miette was determined to have Ash for himself, but she still was a nice person. "I'll give you a month. If thirty days from now you two aren't dating, He and I will be dating within days after that."

Serena seemed agreeable. "Ok. That's a deal."

They shook hands. Serena smiled. "I know something you don't though. I'm going to tell you though."

"Oh?" Miette asked. "And what would that be?"

Serena smiled. "Ash leaves Kalos in forty days. He plans on taking one person with him."

Notes: sorry if I screw anything up I haven't watched the actual series just some episodes that seemed important


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Priorities

recent notes (this won't be here forever): I have up to chapter 7 pre-written, but just hear me out-

A few of you expressed desire for a few things. I'll do what I can but this is pretty planned out. If you want a Miette and Ash chapter I'll hit you up tho.

K thanks enjoy

Days until time's up: 29

Days until Ash leaves: 39

Serena woke up earlier than normal. She was concerned about this whole deal thing. It seemed like it would hurt their friendship a lot. But she was still determined to get what she wanted- Ash.

She left her house for the day to clear her mind. She had a huge contest coming up, and being able to spend time with her Pokémon to bond before the contest is just what she needed.

But Serena was also scared. Would she be able to perform for the contest, but also still be able to win Ash's heart? Questions were flooding her head, but she had her Pokémon with her, and while she couldn't speak with them, she felt like they understood, and that's what mattered to her.

"Now Sylveon, use Swift!"

Sylveon shot out stars from her ribbons, which landed right in the sparkling vortex of darkness that Pancham had made. Her contest routine had finally become pretty stable.

"Now Braixen!"

This was Serena's cue. She hopped in the air to jump through rings of fire, but he tripped on the last one. She fell to the ground.

This deal was too busy swimming through her head to get anything done. She knew she could pull it off, but she knew Miette wasn't kidding, and her and Ash would be dating soon.

Serena thought. "How can I possibly feel prepared for this contest when all I have on my mind is Ash?"

She almost thought a little too loud. Just then Ash walked in the training room. Serena blushed almost immediately, but she kept it hidden. Ash was so oblivious that hiding it was never an issue, which was good because she did it so much.

Ash gave her one of those "whoops" smiles. "Sorry, thought no one was in here. Greninja and I were about to train. We'll go find a different one."

Just that quickly he was gone. Serena removed her hat from her face, looking around. Her knees were kind of scraped up from her fall, and she had two bruises on her left arm. Wait one of those is a burn mark. Shoot.

She wondered if Ash would notice.

Oh well, back to training, after all her contest was five days away.

Serena thought back to the day she met Ash. Not that day at the summer camp, where she started to kind of like him, or the day she saw him on tv and decided to travel to a different city and start a Pokémon journey to see him, and when she walked into that gym in Santalune City, where Ash was battling that bug type trainer. Ash said he won that battle because of what she said.

She lied down on her back in the middle of the training room, just thinking about Ash.

Miette didn't have a chance. Shame.

Notes: watched that episode today so I thought about it and so I wrote about it. It was more like 3 episodes but dailymotion has me covered

See y'all next time.

As in yes I'm watching the series. I'm at episode 54 in xy, but I've seen all the big plot episodes


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Enter: Clemont and Bonnie

New notes: You aren't getting that Miette / Ash chapter for a while I'm sorry. It will be in though, and I have some workarounds to please you all. This fic's gonna be real long, so buckle up buttercups

Days until time's up: 27

Days until Ash leaves: 37 (is this counter still needed I know how to add 10)

Ash was hard at work in the training room next door. Greninja was doing really well today. "Awesome job Greninja! You're doing great!"

One by one the practice targets were being destroyed by water shurikens. Each of them landed perfectly in the center, destroying each one and leaving a bit of sparkle behind. "Ha, it's like we're practicing for a contest," said Ash. "Ok Greninja you've done enough today. Why don't you take a rest?"

Just then Clemont entered the room. He's been working on some invention for a while, but hasn't told anyone about it yet. He seemed to have left it in the other room, unless it was small. "Hey Ash, that looked like some pretty nice stuff out there."

"Yeah," Ash answered. "Greninja's been doing really well."

Clemont laughed. "Like you're practicing for a contest, huh? Anyone else you know practicing for a contest?"

Ash seemed confused but picked up the sarcasm. "Not sure what you're getting at, but if you must know I accidentally walked in on Serena practicing for her big performance. Didn't seem like that big of a deal."

Just then a mechanical arm reached out from Clemont's bag. Hm. It was small. It reached out and over, grabbed Ash, and pinned him against the wall. "Look," said Clemont. "Either you tell Serena how you feel or I'll tell Serena how you feel."

"Oooh," said Ash. "That's what this is. Well I do feel like she'll do really well, but if you want to tell her that too I'm sure it will boost her confidence."

Clemont was done. "You know what I mean. I know you like Serena."

Ash turned the slightest shade of red, although the training facility did have a rather large sunroof. Like the big obnoxious ones no one likes. It's also a horrible shade of green. But let's refocus Ash turned red. "I don't like Serena, but I guess I see where that's coming from."

Clemont stared very intently.

Ash continued. "Look, we're really good friends, and I think she's great at what she does, but we're just friends, and I'm pretty ok with that."

Clemont sighed. "Look I give up. You win this round, but I'm not gonna let up on you until you tell me the truth." He proceeded to leave, to go find Bonnie.

Bonnie walked in to Serena on the floor in the middle of the training room. She went in there because Dedene wanted to see Pancham (the two have had a thing for a bit). Serena looked so peaceful on the floor, Bonnie thought she was dead. Bonnie screamed and ran over to her, to find Serena perfectly fine, smiling on the floor. Then she looked down to her arm.

"Omg! Serena, your arm got burnt!"

Serena didn't see her come in. She was, ahem, distracted. "Oh. Yeah, I sort of fell. Not anything bad, but it'll be there for a few hours. I'm fine, just kind of thinking."

Bonnie knew. "About Ash?"

Serena got really red really fast. "Remember when he asked me to join you guys, and he said how my words kept him able to win the battle?"

Bonnie sighed. "Yes, you talk about it all the time. Why don't you just tell him? I'm pretty sure he likes you back, but the kid's a mystery."

Serena got even redder(is that a word?). "You think so?"

Bonnie nodded. "Also you've waited waaaaaay too long. How long have you liked him?"

Serena was literally as red as a tomato right now. "Um, let's see, it's Wednesday, so um, roughly a year and a half." Serena realized how long she waited. "Oh my gosh, it's been so long. How can I just condense all that love for him into a few words? How do I tell him without sounding overly attached like I actually am? How am I supposed to do all this in 27 days!?"

Bonnie tilted her head. "27 days?"

Serena nodded slowly. "I made a little deal with Miette…"

Bonnie put her hand on Serena's shoulder. Wait until after your performance. I wanna check out this deal thing. Miette will be at the contest, right?"

Serena nodded. "Yeah, why?"

Bonnie looked determined. "I wanna look at the situation. It might be better for you to wait for Ash to tell you how he feels."

That spooked Serena like she was a small dog. "Wait!? He hasn't done it in the past year and a half, why do you think waiting will solve this?"

Bonnie looked at her. "Have you said anything in a year and a half?"

Serena looked down. "No…"

Bonnie stood up. "It might be the better path. Just keep your options open." She started to walk out. "Now focus. You have a contest to win. Two contests actually. But one's in two days focus on that one."

Notes: oh snap it's a longish one. Enjoy because I wrote this at 11:00 at night and I probably made like 20 typos.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Prep Day

Days until time's up: 26

Ash walked up to the contest area door. "Alright Serena. This is where you go. I know you'll do grea-"

"Hiiiiii Aaaaash!"

It was Miette.

Miette was standing there behind the group. She always did that thing where she sneaks up on people. It's really weird.

"Sooo," said Miette. "Who are you going to cheer for in the contest tomorrow?"

Ash did that smile overly enthusiastic thing. "I'm going to make sure I cheer a lot for both of you!"

Miette got closer to Ash. "What if me and Serena have to go against each other?"

Ash did the smile thing that hurts again. "I'll make sure I cheer a lot for Serena!"

Miette got red. "Oh. Well, um," she looked at Serena. "Are you guys already a thing?"

Serena got crazy red again. "No we did not! Now hush up!"

Miette laughed. "Haha! See you laaaater Ash!"

Then she disappeared. Serena got really red again, then took some deep breaths, and returned to normal. Miette was really hindering her chance. But he said that he'd cheer for her! That was good, right? Right?

Serena walked into the contest hall. Her room was the second floor, back side. It was really nice, silk sheets and all the rich person stuff.

Alright. Here it is. No more Ash. Just focus on the contest.

She let her Pokémon out. Pancham, Braxien, And Sylveon would be performing tomorrow. Serena was really tired. The Pokémon retreated to their beds and crashed immediately. They've had a long day themselves.

Serena was about to go to bed, when there was a knock on her door.

Ash was there. Ohmygosh. "Hey, what are you doing here?" Said Serena, blushing slightly.

Ash reached into his bag. He got out a purple pokeball. "This is from one contest I did back in Hoenn. I want you to have it."

Serena blushed. "Thank you! Wait, you did contests?"

Ash got a little red. No sunroof here. "Um yeah. I tried out a few. It was fun, but you can only really pick one thing to focus on, and the Hoenn League was my top priority."

Serena laughed. "Haha, well thanks a lot again," she blushed more. "I can't wait to see everyone tomorrow…"

Ash noticed her blush for the first time. Take notes, this will be on the final. "Yeah, I can't wait to see you tomorrow. You'll do great, I just know it. You've worked way too hard to lose."

Serena was really red now. She knew Ash had seen her blush now. He said goodbye one more time, and headed out for the night. The rest of them were in the Pokémon center tonight. Serena watched Ash leave, smiled, and layed down on her bed.

Then there was another knock on the door. Was this it? Did he come back? Serena ran over to the door only to see: Miette.

"Heeeeey", I heard you talking with a certain someone."

Serena got red again. "It was nothing! He just gave me something."

Miette was curious now. "Ooooooh a present! Let's see it!"

Serena was still focused on the contest. "Hm," she sighed. "You'll just have to see it tomorrow!

Notes: oh cool it's 1:07 am time for bed.

Sorry it's short this week was a mess


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: game day

Days until time's up: 25

Serena woke up really early. She looked over at the clock, which had Ash's purple pokeball next to it (no it's not a master ball calm down). She picked it up and smiled. It was one of the many things Ash has gotten her. It hit her just then, that this bet will be easier than she thought.

She walked down to the common room for breakfast. She had the pokeball in her hand. She's let Braixen get in it during breakfast, then put it away.

But Miette was already there. Serena tried to hide it, but Miette ran over to Serena's table. Shauna was with her too. (For those of y'all just tuning in Shauna is in the series too. I swear I've watched some of it). "Heeey Serena!" Miette looked over to Serena's hands. "Oh! Is that the present Aaaaash gave you?"

Serena tried to hide it more. "I don't know what you're talking about, and I went to bed early last night.

Shauna was intrigued. She picked up on the fact that Serena liked Ash almost immediately. "Oh, are you guys, you know-"

"No we're not! Now stop asking questions so loud they all will be here any minute." Serena was annoyed. She just wanted to focus on the competition. It was hopeless though. Oh well, they weren't here yet and it was just breakfast, she figured it was ok to talk about it.

Shauna came back with her food. "So I heard about your deal-thing. You're trying to do it in, like only 30 days?"

"Well it's pretty compl-"

Miette chimed in. "Actually it's only 25 now. You might have to pick up the pace a bit." She laughed.

Serena was red. "No! Stop! I'm doing fine I swear! I'll get it done. I'm so sure of it."

Miette laughed again. "You better get it done."

Shauna spoke quietly. "Well, it's good you're doing fine, I guess."

Serena looked at her. "Are you ok? You seem upset."

Shauna tried to laugh it off. "No it's cool. Just nervous for today."

Ash and the gang showed up. They quickly changed the conversation.

It was the first round. The brackets worked out well, and Serena wouldn't have to face anyone she knew until the last four. Miette and Shauna had a chance of competing against each other though.

Serena walked onto the stage. She was nervous, but only because she knew Ash was watching. She took a deep breath, her mind focused in on that one seat in the middle back section, where he was.

"Now Sylveon, Swift! Pancham, Dark Pulse, And Braixen, use flamethrower!"

She did the routine perfectly. It was exactly how she planned it.

Results were in. All 3 moved on. Then later, they all moved on again. Until the final eight were competing. Miette has beat Shauna. It was a first time, too. Serena was waiting to go out soon, and Shauna ran in.

"Hey," said Serena. "You did great out there. I'm so sorry."

"It's ok," Shauna managed between sniffles. I'll be, I'll be, I'll," she ran over and hugged Serena. Serena noticed her friend upset, and did what she could to comfort her. Shauna calmed down after a while.

Serena got up. "Ok, well I'm up soon. Do you need or want anything else?"

Shauna shook her head. "No, I'll be alright." She sniffled again. "I just need some time."

Serena gave her a smile. Ok, well I'm up. I'll see you later."

Serena left the room, leaving Shauna and the few TVs that played a live stream of the performances.

Notes: Hooooooly crap I put in a twist.

New notes: I took out the twist it's later haha

Now that I wrote it down I can go to bed. I should start getting to bed before midnight.

Nah.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: game day part 2

Days until time's up: 25

Serena walked out and put out another perfect performance. This upset Miette, who lost, but still was happy for her friend.

Miette walked out into the common room. Still just Shauna was in there. Miette went over to her. "Hey I'm really sorry. But I guess it's kinda ok because Serena just beat-" she looked at what Shauna was looking at. "Watcha dooooing?"

Shauna got red and threw her phone away from the area. "I wasn't looking at anything!"

Miette wasn't convinced. "You like someone, don't you? Please don't let it be Tieron, he's a real zany character. But if it's Trevor I think you two would be cute together."

Shauna was red. "Um, you don't need to know who it is. It's neither of those two though."

Miette let out a very loud and unpleasant groan. "Uuuuugh that makes 3 if ya going for Ash. I'll make you a deal. If 30 days after Serena's 30 days I am not-"

"It's not Ash and it's not important!" Shauna was very upset now. She started to cry again. The overwhelming thoughts of her losing just made it hurt even more to yell at her friend.

Miette was standing there. "Look if it means that much to you I don't know then I'll stay out of it. I'm sorry for pestering you."

Shauna was done crying. "It's fine."

Serena walked back in. The two had completely missed watching the contest. Serena was moving on to the finals, but they would be tomorrow. Everyone still got to stay in the hotel for the night though, and there was a huge ball tonight. It's gonna be huge.

Oh, and everyone was required to have a date. (I get it it's cliche haha roast me I dare you)

When they announced that all 3 girls were caught off guard. Eventually Miette convinced Clemont to take her, which took a while because Clemont was close to a new invention.

Shauna went with Trevor, who gave up on Shauna after she friendzoned him last year.

Serena was freaking out. She knew she'd ask ash and that he'd probably say yes, but she had no idea what to say.

She went over to the Pokémon center where Ash and the rest were staying. She walked up to Ash, and got really red. "Hey Ash," Serena said nervously.

Ash was happy to see her. "Hey! Great job out there! What do you need?"

Serena got quiet. "Um, so, that ball thing is tonight."

Ash nodded. "Yeah I know."

Serena got quieter. "And the contestants are supposed to bring dates"

Ash nodded. "Yeah I know."

Serena got red. "So I wanted to know, um, if you wanted to go with me?"

Ash got a little red. "Um yeah. Actually, I was gonna ask you that in like an hour."

Serena blushed even more. "Awww, really?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah I really was. I wouldn't want someone like you all alone at the ball."

Serena was excited. "Yay thank you so much. See you tonight."

Ash nodded. "Yeah see you tonight."

New Notes: Holy crap forgot something. Sorry I missed last week. I have a special makeup sunrise coming up so I think I'll fix it.

Notes: guys I did it it's 11:47pm I got to bed before midnight.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Hungover?

Days until time's up: 24

Serena woke up in her room. She had no recollection of the night before. Everything from after the performance to now was a complete blur.

Serena went down to get breakfast. Everyone was waiting for her, except Ash. Shauna spoke first. "Oh good you're finally up. You took quite the hit last night didn't you?"

Serena was confused. Was she injured last night? "I'm sorry I don't remember anything from last night."

Shauna giggled. "Well, once you and Ash arrived, super cute by the way-"

"What I went with Ash?"

"Yeah, you don't remember asking him?"

"I What?"

"Why don't you sit down. We'll need to go over this."

They went over to sit down at a table for two. Shauna got a little red as she sat down, but quickly returned to normal. Serena didn't notice. Good. "So what exactly happened. I'll try not to interrupt."

Shauna began. "Well, you and Ash were having a good time. We all were. Eventually a really slow song came on. You decided that you really wanted to dance with Ash-"

Serena got very red. "I WHAT?"

"Hey," said Shauna. " I thought I said don't interrupt. That's ok though, I'm not mad." Shauna was a little red too now, but Serena didn't notice. "Anyway, while you decided to dance with Ash, you didn't decide on remembering something important about him."

Serena was very monotone. "Is it that he's completely oblivious?"

Shauna laughed. "Haha, no. not at all. Actually, you forgot he dances like he has two left feet."

Serena sighed. "Oh."

Shauna laughed again. "Anyway, basically, to sum it all up, he kinda let you fall, and you completely blacked out. I was the first to notice after Ash did. Ash was very embarrassed, and ran out. He feels terrible." Shauna winked. "I would talk to him if I were you. It might make him feel better, and give you a bit of an edge."

Serena was red again. "Ugh, come on. Why does everything lead to that."

"She's telling the truth, it would give you an edge."

Oh my gosh Miette is actually everywhere. She laughed and winked. "Just saying. Toodaloo!"

Serena looked around for Ash, but couldn't find him anywhere. Not that she cared too much, but she noticed Clemont missing as well. She checked the entire hotel, but to no avail. She checked through the entire town, but the man she wanted was nowhere to be found. She was about to give up when she found Pikachu outside the hotel. "Pikachu, do you by chance know where Ash is?"

Pikachu nodded. "Pika Pi!" Pikachu then ran off into the woods behind the hotel. Pikachu stopped at the edge of the woods, knowing its place. He gestured that Ash was in there."

Serena walked into the woods. She looked around for a while, and had a very hard time finding him. Eventually she walked through a clearing to hear voices, although it wasn't Ash's- at first.

"Come on, she'll get over it" said a voice sounding the likes of Clemont. Serena peered over a hedge to see a singular tent, and the bright blonde standing outside it. From where she was he was talking to a random tent in the woods. Then the tent spoke.

"You seem so positive. Bonnie isn't over the fact that your inventions blow up, why should Serena be ok with it. I killed any chance I had."

Serena was intrigued now. Chance? Chance for what?

Clemont laughed. "My inventions blow up every time. Bonnie's also my little sister. You're dealing with someone completely different now. Listen, I need to go. I'll save you a seat in the stands should you ever choose to leave the woods." Clemont left the area, not noticing Serena at all. Score.

Serena started meandering through the woods, like she had no idea if anyone was there. "Ash?" She called out, as if she didn't know the location of her crush.

A sad voice came from inside the tent. "What do you want?"

Serena knew this was the hardest thing she was about to do all weekend. The contest had nothing remotely close to this level of difficulty. She sat down next to Ash. "Listen, I'm not upset."

Ash sounded slightly better. "So Shauna told you everything I guess."

Serena wasn't sure. "She said that I fell and you ran out. That was about it."

Ash sighed for some reason. "Ok, well I'm just really sorry. I completely wrecked your night."

Serena put her hand on Ash's shoulder. It didn't seem like much, but it took her forever to be able to manage that. She held back the blushing, knowing Ash was staring right at her. "No, not at all. I apparently was having a great time for the whole time last night." She laughed. "You know, I really don't remember any of it. Is it true I asked you?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah and I'm really glad you did. Well, you should get going. You don't want to be late." He got up and ran off. "I'll see you in the stands!"

Serena watched him leave. He got so happy so fast. She took a minute to remember that time Ash almost heard too much. Shauna said how Ash was so upbeat, then said "that's why you like him, right?"

Well it sure was.

Notes: I really liked this chapter. I had no idea where I was going with this, and it turned out good I think.

I plan on writing a new fic soon, called "Too Much". It's gonna be a rewrite of XY episode 90 (the scene at the end Serena mentions is in that one). It's gonna be exactly the same except I'm gonna take a few poetic liberties. Ok a lot of poetic liberties. Ok it's gonna be completely new plot. This one'll be short, like a one chapter kind of thing.

The next one I write won't be an amourshipping fic, but it will be Pokemon still. It's called "The secret mega," and it's a whole new region and new characters. No there won't be new Pokémon. No I'm not putting romance in it. No Ash won't be in it.

Finally chapters will be longer now, but they'll also take longer to write. I write all of these on my phone, unless I'm really rushed.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Afterwards

Days until time's up: 24

Serena walked into the main foyer, almost in tears. She had been beaten by a newbie. Some weird person named Sonaria. She had a kricketune and a chatot, and Serena was blown out of the water.

Shauna was the first to greet her. Serena ran into her arms and broke down crying. How could she lose? She's worked so hard. Shauna was conflicted, but put her best efforts in to comforting her friend. After a long period of silence, Shauna spoke. "I'm so sorry, but I know you did the best you could possibly do, and that's what really matters. It takes a good performer to win, but it takes an even better performer to come back and win after losing. Next time, it will be all yours."

Serena felt a bit better. "Thanks, that helped a lot. I'm sure I'll get it next year. I might even have a Delphox then!"

Miette was standing outside that hallway. She was very tired, as she was already practicing for the next performance all day, but her ears faintly caught the lines " But it takes an even better performer to come back after losing." Miette looked out the window that peered on to the ground two stories below. Her eyes caught Ash, who was waiting on a bench. No one seemed to be talking to him or anything. Was she allowed to still try for Ash? It was never specified, but was she supposed to just give up even longer?

Miette thought for a while, and eventually concluded on one thought: Ash always says, 'never give up 'till it's over', so I'll use that mindset I think

She ran down the stairs as fast as she could, she couldn't let anyone else get close to him before she did. She ran all the way to the door of the complex, and then casually walked out like she didn't just sprint to go see a boy. She pretended to walk past Ash at first, then paced backward until she was in line with him. "Hey Ash! What are you doing all alone?"

Ash wasn't excited, but he wasn't necessarily sad. "I guess I feel bad for all of you. You all put so much work in, but I still feel so bad you girls lost. Especially Serena.

This angered Miette a bit. "Oh, and why is that?"

Ash replied simply. "It was so close, she had over 45% of the vote, and it was an incredible match. I feel bad for all of you, but that one was too close to handle."

Miette returned to normal. She went over and sat next to Ash. "Just out of curiosity, I saw you gave Serena a present before the performances. What was that about?"

Ash remembered the purple ball he gave Serena. He hadn't touched it since Sinnoh when he used it last. "I had no need for it, and I really thought it would make her more ready to perform if she had a little boost of support."

Miette wasn't done asking questions. "But why Serena? Wouldn't any other girl do just as well with that boost?" She moves closer to Ash

Ash thought about it. He hadn't really thought about why he gave it to Serena, it was just a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing. "I don't know. Just kind of did." Ash was red from getting asked all these questions.

Miette decided to be very upfront now. "Look, what I'm going at is a simple yes or no question: Do you like Serena?"

Ash said something that surprised her. "Actually, I kind of like where we are now just as friends. I'll always support her in everything she does, because I care about her, but I'm not gonna say that I like her." He got red like he was trying to hide something. "I don't think that I really like anyone, you know, like that."

Miette jumped on that blush. "Oooooh, you blushed like crazy there. I bet you dooooo!"

Ash said, "Fine, if it gets you off my back I'll tell you. I do like someone, but I'm not telling you who it is."

Miette looked over to the complex door. Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie walked out with Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor. Miette jumped up. "Well that's all I needed! So long!"

Serena looked over to see Ash, but never saw who he was talking to. She ran into his arms and broke down. She was still pretty upset she lost, but wanted to make sure Shauna felt like she was better.

Ash didn't know what to do in times like this. He put his hand on her shoulder, and tried to comfort her. She looked at him, and said, "I'm sorry I lost…"

Ash said, "Don't be! You tried as hard as you could. That's what matters."

Serena smiled at him. "Thanks, Ash. You always know what to say."

They continued on their way back to Lumiose city. Clemont had some gym battles to do, so he decided to go back to take them on his own. Serena tried to move close to Ash as they walked, but his oblivious nature prevented it from happening.

Miette looked at them from afar. "So I still have a chance. Hm. What can I do to get my way?"

New notes: wooo double upload week! This one's short and I wrote it way too fast so sorry

Notes: there ya go. I gave you kind of what y'all wanted. Don't worry, there'll be more of this, I'm not just dropping this and running.

New fic is in progress. It's a one-and-done deal, so I'll be a while on that.

That's all I have today bye


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Hecking Sniped

Days until time's up: 22

From the trees, they looked like they were dating. "No, it can't be."

It moved over to another tree. Nothing was different. "Ughh." Let's try one more angle."

Last tree. No difference. "I can't believe this! I must go in closer to check this out."

Ash walked back from the local battlefield with a high head. He had just beaten Alain in a 1v1, the first time he's ever beaten him. Bonnie was running around in excitement, while Clemont was just trying to keep her where she was. Serena was standing close to Ash, going on about the battle. "That was awesome! I didn't think you'd be able to land such a clutch electro ball! I guess I should never have underestimated you."

Ash was very proud of himself, but more proud of his pokemon. "Don't just congratulate me, congratulate Pikachu also. The two of us worked as a team."

"Yeah, nice job Pikachu!"

Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder and stood with a big grin on his face. "Pika Pi!"

Ash laughed at Pikachu's sporadic gesture. Then he looked at Serena. "You know, you're always very supportive of me. I think there's a lot of battles I wouldn't have won without you cheering me on."

Serena blushed. "Oh, i-it's nothing. Just trying to be helpful."

The figure poked its head up from nearby bushes. "Good thing he's so dense." It watched as they went away. "Well, I guess I'll just see them at the next showcase. I'll check in then to see my chances. Only 22 days. If she fails, then it's my turn."

The figure coughed. "Wow this dark suit isn't breathable at all! I really should've put more thought into it. It reached up to the head piece and tore it off. "Ahh. Much better."

The night grew closer as the squad ended up in the woods near Lumiose city. "We better stop here tonight," said Clemont. "I don't think the Pokémon center will be open for us at this late of a time."

Agreeable to this, they all got into their respective tents, and went to sleep.

Bonnie was tossing and turning. At one point she flung her arm over, hitting Serena, which woke her up.

Serena shot up, and looked over at Bonnie. She seemed asleep still. Suddenly, she flew out of bed, screaming. She ran over to the tent with Clemont and Ash, and said that she had a bad dream.

Clemont tried comforting her. "Don't worry. Bad dreams aren't real, so you'll be ok!"

Bonnie wasn't having science in the middle of the night. "Clemont," she sniffed. "Can I please sleep in your tent tonight?"

Clemont gave Bonnie a hug. "Sure. Ash, do you mind sleeping in Serena's tent?"

Ash got a little red. "Um, well, if it's for Bonnie I might as well."

Clemont nodded. "Then it's settled. I'm sure you won't mind, Ash."

Ash nodded. "Yeah, I love helping people out."

Clemont sighed. "Just, just go to bed."

As Ash walked away, Bonnie fell asleep, with a mean-looking grin on her face.

Serena heard those words sitting alone in the pink tent. What? Here? Nononono! She quickly turned over and pretended to sleep as the crinkling of leaves got closer.

Ash unzipped the tent. "Hey Ser-" he whispered. "Oh, sorry, you're asleep." He went over to the unoccupied side and quickly fell asleep. He had a long day.

Serena was not asleep. She rolled over and watched as Ash slept. She pretended to roll over in her sleep, until her body softly collided with Ash. Only then did she fall asleep soundly.

New Notes: I know they're still really short. Chapter 12ish is where they get longer.

Notes: who is this figure person? Jk I know. You don't though so that's a shame. Anyway I'll be done new fic soon- I think. Assuming nothing massive comes up (like high school swimmin- shoot.)


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10(woot): Breakfast with people

Days until time's up: 21

Ash woke up. Hm, he thought. My tent is unusually pink to- Oh. Wait. He looked around the tent, currently closed off to nature. On the outside he heard Bonnie laughing and running around. Then Clemont's voice came from the outside. "Bonnie! You know that was wrong! Now stop messing around and help make breakfast."

Bonnie's voice replied. "Fiiiiiine, Clemont. After all, those two should get all the sleep they can."

"Bonnie! That's enough!"

Ash seemed a bit confused. He looked over at Serena, still asleep. Did Bonnie do this on purpose? Ash knew Bonnie was pretty smart, but if Bonnie knew what he knew, then maybe he wasn't being dense enough. Maybe he should stop being dense.

He thought about the time when Clemont walked in on greninja and Ash training. The Kalos League is now 11 days away. It is so much closer now that he thought about it. He looked over at the plane ticket for Kanto he had in his bag. That was 21 days away. Ash had 3 weeks left in Kalos.

Ash then thought about when Serena found him in the woods. He had messed up badly at that dance, and none of it was her fault. Clemont didn't quite understand. This was going to be very difficult for Ash.

Ash looked over at Serena again. She slept so peacefully, almost as if she had a smile on face.

Ash decided to get up and get some training done before they head on the road. He started moving, but felt restrained. He realized that if he moved, then Serena would get woken up. So Ash decided to stay there.

Finally, Serena got up. Her face turned red quickly. "Oh! Morning, Ash."

"Good morning, Serena. Sleep well?"

"You bet! Let's go eat! Bonnie and Clemont have been working hard, I bet. After all, they let us sleep in."

As the two walked out, they both looked over and saw Bonnie sitting on a log, with wide-eyes and a grin. "Morning, you two. Sleep well?"

Before they got a chance to respond, Pancham and Chespin were fighting again. They tumbled close to the table. Chespin threw Pancham on top of the food, and then lunged at them. Within seconds their hard earned breakfast was gone. "Chespin!" Clemont sighed. "Where are we going to find our own breakfast now?"

With a stroke of luck, A Charizard flew in, with a person on it. "Right there, Charizard!" The Charizard flew closer and eventually landed. The person on the Pokemon was now recognizable as Trevor. "Hey guys!"

"Hey Trevor!" Everyone responded.

"So your breakfast got ruined. Well, you're in luck! We're all meeting in Anistar City to have a sort of brunch thing. You all are more than welcome to come."

Clemont replied. "Anistar isn't far from here. You can count us in!"

The gang finally made it to the restaurant where brunch was happening. Shauna and Tierno were already there. "Is everyone here?" asked Ash.

"Not quite," said Shauna. "We're waiting on one more." She giggled.

Serena looked at her. What was that about?

They all looked up at the sound of a call. A Braviary swooped down, and dropping in finally was no other than Miette. "Wow," said Ash. "I didn't know you had a Braviary."

Miette looked at him with starry eyes. "Just like you Ash, I spent some of my days in Unova."

Clemont interrupted. "Well, we're all here now. Let's eat!"

Notes: this ones really short, and there's little Amourshipping content here. I'm sorry. Next one will be better.


	11. Chapter 11

Um hi.

So I don't like putting stuff on top, but I am. One quick review I'd like to reply to publicly, or more like, a few that had the same idea. This _is_ an Amourshipping story, but Miette and Ash have their moments. You'll see more in Chapter uhhhhh, 15? I think? But overall, yes this Amoushipping, and I don't plan on changing that. If it means you stop reading, I'll be sad, but I'm not saying I wasn't expecting it.

Thanks, please enjoy

Chapter 11: Better (lemme know if you get it)

Days until time's up: 21

Similar to the last time most of them ate together, with the exception of Miette and Trevor, They were basically separated at the tables again. Girls on one end, with Miette and Serena at the end, Shauna next to Serena and Bonnie next to Miette. Clemont sat next to Bonnie, and Ash sat next to Shauna. After that, Tierno was next to Ash, and Trevor next to Clemont. All the Pokemon were happily eating and playing.

Shauna started talking to the girls. "Are all of you registered for the 10th annual Anistar Showcase?"

Miette answered. "Sure am!"

Serena looked confused. "What? Aww man, if I knew there was one, I would have registered."

Shauna responded. "Don't worry. I registered you. I knew you had, well, other things to deal with."

Serena turned red. "What's that supposed to mean?" She looked over at Ash, who seemed to be in a heated debate with the others.

"That's not how it works. Type advantages aren't everything. Assuming we are equally as strong, I would win because I have a mega stone."

"Not so fast. You never managed to outdo our rhythmic battle style."

Ash was just watching, though. He was in the middle, so he heard a little of both conversations.

"So Miette, how many days are left?"

"Shauna, not now, he's really close b-"

"Exactly 20 days and 13 hours. Not that I'm counting. This is all on Serena to do."

Serena got red. Did Ash know what they were talking about. She hoped and prayed she didn't.

Bonnie got excited. "Ooooooh! Is this the bet Miette has with Serena about Ash?"

Now he knew. Great. "Well Bonnie, I have know idea what you're talking about. Why don't you eat your vegetables before Clemont makes you?"

"Three steps ahead of you. Clemont won't interrupt our conversation about you and As-"

"Not so loud, Bonnie!"

Ash looked over, pretending he heard absolutely nothing for the last five minutes. "So, Serena, should we plan to go to the Anistar Showcase? It's the tenth one, you should try."

Serena was glad Ash tried to change the subject, unless he really didn't hear it. But that was really unlikely, considering his proximity to her. "Um, well, I probably should. Although, I don't have any good ideas, and I can't just wing it."

Shauna persisted. "Nonsense, you can wing it for sure! I've seen you perform before. It's truly spectacular. I can assure you, you'll do great!"

Serena nodded. "You know what, maybe I can pull something off with less than a day to go. But I really think I should start training. See you all later!" And at that, Serena walked out to the battlefield that was visible to outside the restaurant. "I'll go with her," said Shauna. "People could always use a training partner. It helps with, um, ideas! Like it did last time! Bye!"

Ash watched her leave. "That was weird. Hm."

"We're going too," said Tierno. "Trevor and I have something to settle."

"Why don't we all go?" Suggested Clemont. "They could all use our support!"

There were two battlefields outside the restaurant. One was occupied by Trevor, Tierno, Clemont, and Bonnie. Ash hung with Serena, Shauna, and Miette. Ivysaur and Pancham were battling, putting on their own little show as they tried to beat the other. It reminded Ash of the Contests in Hoenn and Sinnoh.

Trevor and Tierno were going at it. There was no way either one was going to lose. Blastoise was dodging Mega Charizard's attacks easily, but not able to land one itself. They were gonna be there all day.

At the end of Shauna and Serena's battle, they went to the middle to congratulate each other. "That was a great job Serena! You'll do great tomorrow!"

"Wow, thanks, Shauna!"

As they all said goodbye to each other, Serena watched the three walk off, and Miette fly off, Leaving only Ash and the Lumiose siblings. Ash they left, Serena quietly said to herself, "I'm not ready at all…"

Only Ash noticed

They went to the Pokémon center for the night. They all went to bed pretty quickly, as it had been a long day.

Time: Later than when I'm writing this (probably like 1:00 am

It was pretty cold that night, but like summer cold, so like 60 degrees (F). Everyone was asleep, exhausted from the day before.

Everyone but Serena.

She got up, looked around, and started to walk around for a bit. She eventually sat down on the porch outside. The Anistar Pokemon Center they were at overlooked the sundial and the lake. It was a pretty breathtaking view. Serena looked out, wondering what in the world she was going to do tomorrow. Everyone thought she'd do fine, as she was a pretty solid Performer, but she was worried. Her routine wasn't clean, and she wasn't ready for any preliminary competitions. Results seemed dismal. Serena looked out over the back side of Anistar City.

"It's really nice out there, isn't it?"

Serena looked back at the door where she came in. Ash was waiting there. Serena had know idea why he was here. "Ash! Sorry if I woke you."

Ash was tired. "It's fine really. I like seeing the moon reflect on the sundial. It looks really nice without all the lights in the town."

Serena looked over to the sundial. It really was pretty tonight. "Are you worried about tomorrow?" Asked Ash.

"Yeah. I'm glad you told me I should do it, but I'm really nervous. I've never gone in with this little preparation before, and I don't know if it really is something I can pull off."

Ash sat down next to her. He seemed like he really wanted to help her. "You know, when I went in to battle Korina, I tried using Tierno's dancing strategy. It didn't work. But I learned to adapt quickly and I managed to win on my first try. A good performer can practice a lot and win. A really good performer doesn't need practice. And I can tell you, Serena, that you don't need the practice, because you're a great performer."

Serena smiled. "Thanks, Ash. That helped a lot."

Ash got a bit quieter. "Um, Serena, there's one more thing."

Serena blushed. "Um yeah? What do you need?"

Ash began. "Well, I would be lying if I said I didn't hear what the girls were talking about at brunch today. Well, yesterday, but, well, you know what I mean."

Serena got redder(I'm certain it is a word. Didn't think I'd bring this back). "You heard it all?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah, I did. What's this bet thing you have with Miette? I'm just curious. Bonnie started talking about it too, but I didn't pick up what she said."

Serena felt a bit of relief, but not enough. "Well, um-"

"If you don't want to tell me you don't have to."

Serena took a breath. "I-it's just bet Miette and I have. J-just about a guy we both like."

Ash was interested now. "Ooooh, a guy huh? Someone I know?"

Serena nodded. "Yeah, well, anyway, Miette said if I don't get together with him in, well, 20 days now, then she's gonna take him away from me."

Ash nodded. "That's brave of you to tell me. I'm proud of you. I'll help you out the best I can. But for now, focus on the Showcase tomorrow. It's a big one."

Serena smiled. "Yeah thanks."

She sat there next to Ash, for a little bit (i.e. 10 seconds). She looked at Ash. He was really trying to help. Serena started to get up, and then threw her arms around him. Ash returned the motion. They held there for a good minute or two. Eventually Ash broke the night's silence. "Well, you should go to bed. Big day tomorrow."

Serena nodded. "Yeah."

Serena went back to the bed area, and fell back asleep. Ash stood out there for a little bit, looking up the the moon.

Then it hit him. "Wait a minute-" he looked back at Serena, who was already asleep. "Nah, I'll deal with it afterwards. She needs all the rest she can get."

The thing rustled in the trees outside. It looked down at what was happening between them. It had one word and one word only. "No."

Notes: looks it's better, right? Anyway, I'm about to dump a bunch of plot down, so be ready.

Also next chapter's gonna be really short, but it's going to direct the plot for at least 10 chapters. Like when I say short, I mean half a page. So it's quick, but huge. Got the idea of where to take Him from writing Too Much. Yeah, that's not done either. I plan on starting The Secret Mega soon as well.

K bye.


	12. Chapter 12

Hey y'all can have this tonight because it's so short

Please never expect 3 uploads in 24 hours again.

Chapter 12: Filler of the Worst Kind

Days until time's up: N/A

Hello, Journal

Wow, haven't broken this thing out in a while. I just have had a lot on my mind, and need to put it somewhere to clear it all out. For Starters, I'll be watching Serena at the Showcase at Anistar tomorrow. It's the tenth one, and it's absolutely huge. There's going to be so many people there. Serena trained yesterday for the first time, and she already looks like she could decimate the competition. I'm a little scared for everyone, even myself.

Speaking of Serena, that's the other thing I wanted to throw down here. We've known each other for quite a while. This feeling only came up recently, I think, but I can't stop thinking about her. Whenever I'm with her, I can feel my heart pounding, trying to escape and just hug her forever. Unfortunately, I can't do that. Honestly, I think I love her. It feels weird to say that but I think it's true. There's no one in the world I'd rather be with than her, even the other two traveling with me. They're great and all, but no one's as great as her. I want to ask her out soon, but I don't know how, and if it's the right thing to do. There's been a figure in the trees, watching her at all times. It's a person, and they aren't hostile. But whoever that person is, I'm sure they truly care about Serena, no matter how bad it looks.

That figure is me, and I am in love with Serena.

Catch you later,

Shauna

Notes: it's short. I told you. Well there's about 10 dozen plot. Not sure what I'll do with it yet.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: A Showcase to Remember, Part 1

Days until time's up: 20

As they talked about, the tenth annual Anistar Showcase was today. There was no doubt at least 1000 people were there. The elusive performer Jesselie even managed to show up.

Serena entered the main foyer, where all the contestants were. She was feeling more confident than ever, especially after what happened last night (chapter 12 check it out like comment and subscribe). Immediately she was greeted by Shauna and Miette. "Hi Serena!" Shauna was always the first to greet her. "Almost all of us are here!"

Serena was excited to see everyone ready to go. "That's great" Where's Nini?"

Shauna paused. "Uh, well, she is actually learning how to do contests in Sinnoh right now. Her, uh, boyfriend is there too."

Serena laughed. "Who would've thought that Nini would be the first one in our group to get a boyfriend?" She then immediately thought about Ash. I'll be number two though, she thought.

Miette laughed. "Well Serena, you seem to be behind the ball in that field. And pretty soon I won't be."

Serena got red. "Hey! I have time still!"

Shauna was quiet. She heard someone say something to her, but all it sounded like was the sweet choir of Serena's voice. "Huh? Right, first one with a, uh, boyfriend. Right. Pretty weird, haha!"

Everyone was confused. "Uh, Shauna?" Serena asked. "I asked if you saw the announcement Pierre just made?"

Shauna laughed again. "Yeah, sorry, long night. I was up late."

Serena laughed. "Perfecting your routine I suppose? Don't worry, you'll do fine. Anyway, Pierre said the preliminary round would be a clothing design. Something that you can make for yourself, and your Pokémon that looks good."

"Oh! Seems odd. I wonder what I should do."

"Just do what your heart tells you," Serena said. "I'm sure something will pop up immediately."

"Yeah well I'm not sure if-"

A Showcase coordinator walked over to them. "Shauna, you're on deck. Serena, you should get ready to go too. Miette, you have like 20 minutes."

"Alright, thanks!" They all replied.

Shauna walked out onto the stage. It was a stage she recognized, where Serena won her second Princess Key. She looked over. She didn't recognize the other 4 Pokémon performers next to her. She walked into a chamber and had a full room of things to design for the first round.

She looked and looked, but nothing appealed to her. Then she remembered what Serena said. "Just do what your heart tells you." She thought about what she wrote the other day. "Well," she said to herself. "I guess I'll do what she tells me. I bet she'll be so surprised!"

Serena and Miette were still in the main foyer. They couldn't see what the performers were doing inside the chambers, but they'd see when they came out. Then Pierre made the call. "Time's up!" The phrase alone startled Serena, who would love to hear any phrase like that.

The first performer and her Pokémon, a Dratini, walked out. Both dressed like an Ekans and Arbok, they showed true bond with their design. Everyone seemed impressed. The second performer, and her Ampharos, came out dressed like pop stars. That really seemed to sweep the audience off their feet. The third performer came out, with her Electrike. They dressed like two gym leaders, who Serena made out to be Clemont and Valerie. Miette laughed. "I bet Clemont's getting a kick out of that."

Serena laughed too. "Hey, it's pretty accurate, as far as I can see. I'm sure up close it's a mess."

Serena watched the fourth performer come out of her respective design chamber, and screamed.

It was Shauna and her Ivysaur, dressed as Serena and Sylveon. "No way…"

Miette was quiet. She was absolutely speechless.

Serena didn't understand. Is this what her heart told her? Was she trying to throw her place out? What was the deal? Is this why Shauna has been so out of it recently? She noticed how much detail Shauna put in. It was incredible how close it was. Ivysaur was the only real thing distinguishing both duos. Serena was so confused she missed the fifth performer go out. In fact, she only tuned back into the performances to hear Pierre yell, "the winners are performer Sandra and Ampharos!"

"Serena, you're up."

Serena walked out to the design chamber, and tried to push everything away. She looked in the mirror and said, "I'm going to win anyway. For Ash."

The list was posted in the main foyer, with all the finalists. There were six of them. The only two Ash and Clemont recognized were Serena and Miette. "Guess the others didn't like Shauna's performance."

"Guess not. I thought she looked pretty cute like that."

"What, Ash?"

"Um, nothing."

Clemont laughed. "It was only a matter of time before you slipped up. I won't tell Serena, but you better do something soon."

"Clemont, That isn't what I meant. You're overreacting about this, I swear. Nothing's going on, I think."

They were about to head back into the audience seating when Bonnie came running out. "Big brother! Big brother!"

Clemont got worried. "Bonnie, what's wrong?"

Bonnie leaned in. "Ash you might want to hear this. This is very specific to you. Last night, when you two were trying to make each other keepers, I saw a thing in the tree. It scared me, so I sent Dedene to see what it was. Someone's watching us, upset you and Serena are close to getting together. I just want to warn you. Move fast. Serena has 20 days left in her bet, but you have less."

The figure reappeared, seeing a huddle, but not sure what to make of it. It noticed Serena missing. "Hm, that's odd."

Ash got worried. "What was it? What did Dedene see?"

Bonnie got even closer. "The thing that wants to take Serena for herself. It's Shauna."

The figure caught on to the last two words. "What do they want?"

The group made it out quickly for the final round of the performance. It was remarkable to see all the performers there, each of them having worked so hard to get to this point. First up was Miette. She looked a bit distressed, for obvious reasons. She took her beginning pose and got ready to go. "Alright Slurpuff, I need your help! You too, Meowstic!" At those lines the two small pokemon came out of their balls. They were eager to get started. "Alright Slurpuff, Cotton Spore!"

Meanwhile, Serena waited anxiously on deck. Her preliminary design was enough to win the crowd's attention, or maybe they felt sorry for her, after suffering the most embarrassing thing in her life. As she waited, she was greeted by a fellow performer. She wasn't used to anyone else talking to her but Shauna, who was nowhere to be found, Nini, who was in Sinnoh, and Miette, who was performing. It was Sandra, and her Ampharos. "Hey, you seem upset."

"You wouldn't be upset if-

"I know what happened. I saw it with my own eyes. But come on, you're a master class finalist! I doubt you could let something like this hurt your performance. After all, your Pokemon don't know. Just go out and rely on them to get you through. When I'm going through tough times, my boyfriend likes to talk to me like this. It always makes me feel better."

"Yeah, I guess that helped me too. Were you at Master Class?"

"No, but I saw you on TV. You looked great!"

"Wow, thanks. I just, didn't think things would go this way today."

Sandra nodded. "Well, don't worry about it. Will you be at Master Class this year?"

Serena stopped. She has one Princess Key so far this season, but then she thought about how long away Master Class is. It's ten months from now. Ash leaves in one. "Well, if things go my way I'll be moving to Pallet Town in Kanto this year."

Sandra laughed. "Say hi to Oak for me. He's a real mess. Although he enjoys everyone who helps him out. Anyway, if not, I'll see you in Master Class."

Serena perked up. "You have three already?"

Sandra nodded. "Yeah, went to every Showcase I could. Exhausting, but it's great experience."

"Serena you're up."

Serena got up. "Yeah, I'll be out. Thanks." She turned to Sandra. "Oh, and thanks so much."

Sandra nodded. "Good luck. I'll be- Oh! Wait! Take this. One of your friends told me to give it to you. I wouldn't open it until afterward, just go out and have fun."

Serena took the note. It was in a plain white envelope. "Thanks. I will."

Notes: I said they'd get long, no one believed me. Anyway things are getting heated, aren't they.

Also expect all preceding chapters to be more accurate, as I finished the entire gen 6 series two weeks ago as of writing this. So like two months ago.


	14. Oops

Chapter 14: A Showcase to Remember, part 2

Serena walked back to the main foyer, with her head high. She had won. No one was back yet, so she decided to capitalize on that, getting all her stuff together beforehand. She reached into her bag, pulling out her note she got. She haddn't opened it yet, but she could feel she knew what this was about.

Only something was different about the note. She looked into her bag to see if there was one she recognized, and sure enough, there was. Huh, weird, she thought to herself. And took careful time opening the note she got. She couldn't recognize the handwriting, but she knew of the looks of very little people's handwriting. It read:

See me at the Anistar Pokemon Center when you get a chance

Serena turned a very dark red, and couldn't help but squealing with excitement. After all this time of waiting, he was going to tell her how he felt. She could just tell. Although now another question struck her. What's in the other note? Her name was written on it, so she assumed it was for her. She opened it, looking very confused.

Meet me behind the Showcase area. Before you get to Him ;)

Him was capitalized. Did whoever wrote this know? Was she not as understanding as she was before? What was all this just a prank from Miette? Now Serena just wanted answers. She wanted to go see who she suspected to be Ash first, before going to see who she suspected to be, uh, who knows? Bonnie? Miette?

She started to make her way back to the the back of Anistar Showcase Center. It wasn't a common meeting place, but it was one that was well-known enough for people to find easily. It was typically used to make a quick exit after a busy showcase like this one. Finally, there they were. The people, crowding her to congratulate her on her second win this season.

"Serena, how do you never fail to please us?"

"Serena, where are you going next?"

"Serena, is it true you and Ash Ketchum were seen at night last night, hugging?"

That last one caught her off guard, and she turned bright red. How did people know about this so quickly? She realized these people wouldn't leave, and she had places to be. This wasn't any time to be messing around with reporters who wouldn't see her until next showcase. She decided that it would be the most efficient for everyone to just answer the questions. "Ok, one at a time. First, I practice a lot, and my friends always support me." She was making up answers on the spot, which is harder than most people think. "Second, I plan on going to Laverre City to compete in a Showcase there, and partake in the festival there. And finally, yes, I was nervous and needed some help. Who told you that anyway?"

As she asked that last question, she saw a blue-haired trainer walk behind all the cameras, catch Serena's eye, wink, and run off. "Miette," she said with a low roar so no one else could hear it. "Now," she addressed everyone. "I have some friends I'd like to meet. If you want to talk, see me tomorrow." She knew that was the one way to get them off her back. No reporter is eager enough to fish up a story the day after a showcase. They need to get to the next available one as quickly as possible.

Serena started going to the back. After that very strange encounter, she was ready for just about anything at this point. She wasn't sure this day could get any weirder. She walked out to the backstage area. It was small, but large enough to talk to three of four people. There was a staircase going upstairs by a door, which led outside. Serena didn't see anyone there. She was confused. This is what most people mean by "Backstage Area". She tried calling out. "Hello? Anyone there?"

"Ok, Flabebe that's enough. No more Fairy Wind."

Serena looked over to see a chair that was not there before. The chair was occupied. By Shauna. Shauna looked very upset. "Serena I-"

"What were you thinking?" Serena cried out. Suddenly Shauna started to cry. Serena realized the harshness of her tone. She stopped. She didn't mean to do this to her friend, now curled up in a ball. Serena sat down next to Shauna, and put her arm around her. Shauna turned a shade of bright pink, which Serena noticed immediately. "Uh, Shauna, I'm sorry for yelling. But really, why did you-"

"Because, be-because, be-because you told me to do it!"

Serena was flat out confused. She didn't remember saying 'imitate me and you'll be good to go.' "But Shauna, I never said it was a bad thing. I think the audience got the wrong vibe. They probably thought it as a romantic attempt or something as opposed to an act of friendship." Shauna got really red, which prompted Serena that something is terribly wrong, or what she said was completely inaccurate. "Shauna, if something's wrong, you can tell me."

Shauna got red. "I can't, really. You would get md at me. More than you are already."

Serena was starting to clue in on what was truly going on. She remembered to the first time she met Shauna. Shauna was such a big fan of her, for something Serena hardly remembered doing. When she called out Fennekin that day, she was so happy. Every time Serena was with her, she seemed happy. When she lost to Serena in Master Class Semi-finals, she was the person she ran to for support. All she needed to do was get Shauna to say it, to confirm it. All Serena had to do was to just, not get mad. "Shauna, really, it's okay, if you're sad or upset, just let me know what's wrong. I can't help you if I don't know what it is."

Shauna was ready to collapse. Then she did, onto Serena's shoulder. She started crying. A lot. Serena wasn't ready for something like this. She's dealt with sad Bonnie before, which was typically dealt with by calling Ash over so she could pet Pikachu. Ash. Serena thought about her crush. He was waiting for him, so she thought. It was likely. She heard him in the woods, saying something about a chance. She was really banking on that. But right now she had a human on her shoulders. Serena lifted her up, and looked into her eyes. Shauna was absolutely upset, driven to near-insanity. "Shauna, please, just tell me."

Shauna took a deep breath. "D-do you remember, before I went out today, when you said to, to do whatever my heart tells me to?"

Serena was right so far. "Yes, I do. But-"

Shauna kept going. Serena realized that if she stopped her she might not say it. She just really wanted this to be dealt with quick. Not because she wanted Shauna to be completely rejected, but because she had to meet with Ash. But Shauna continued. "Well, all my heart thought of, was, was," She took a deep breath, and looked up into Serena's eyes.. "Was you."

There it was. Serena just needed Shauna to get everything off her chest here, so she could feel safe again. Also she was actually on Serena's chest. Felt weird. "I'm not sure I understand…"

"When we first met, you had no idea who I was, but you still welcomed me with open arms. You were so nice to me. When I saw you on Pokevision, I just had to find you, and when I did, I was so excited. You were even nicer than I thought you were. And then, you decided to start competing in Showases. I said I wanted to come along, and you let me. Nothing in the world was stopping me from being with the person I wanted to be with the most. I only ever went back to Trevor and Tierno because you would have caught on."

Serena was about to get her final confirmation. "Caught on to what?"

Shauna knew Serena wasn't this oblivious. As much as she hated it, she knew Serena's crush wasn't her. But she knew that if he had an ability, it would have been oblivious. Shauna decided to try one last thing to sway things her way. "Well, I don't expect an answer immediately, but if you ever want to tell me whether or not you feel the same, I'd be thrilled." Shauna seemed more confident now, she got up, without really answering Serena's question.

But Serena needed confirmation. She needed to know if she was dealing with what she thought it was. She got up and started to follow Shauna. "But Shauna, catch on to what?"

Shauna looked at her. She inhaled, and put her hands on Serena's shoulders. "Just, just let me know eventually. If you feel the same."

She leaned in. Serena knew where this was going, but she knew if she pulled away, Shauna would start to cry again. She didn't have time for that. Ash was waiting. She just closed her eyes, and pictured her knight in shining armor, waiting for her over at Anistar Pokemon Center. Shauna kept going. Eventually, after what felt like a year, for both of them, their lips collided. Shauna held her there for around 15 seconds, then released her slowly.

Then she ran away.

Serena stood there. She felt like something inside her was about to explode in anger, but she knew she couldn't handle wasted time like that. She had one priority left, and she was going to see him. Now.

Serena made her way out of the Anistar Showcase Center. She looked outside. It was nearing sunset. Ash must have been waiting there for ages. Serena looked around. Anistar Pokemon Center was this way, Serena thought. She ran as fast as she could. She walked into the Pokemon Center. She gave the note to the Nurse Joy working there. "Hm," she said. "I didn't see a boy here since, like, 3-ish."

Serena looked at the clock. It was 5 now. She ran to the back of the Pokemon Center to see if anyone was there.

She made it to the back, and paced around the room. No one. She went outside, and saw two shadows around the corner. She ran over to them.

It was only Clemont and Bonnie.

"Oh!" Bonnie said. "Um, you came back."

Serena was confused. "Why wouldn't I?"

Clemont was uneasy too. "Well, you went to see Shauna afterward, right?"

Serena thought back to the incident that just went down with Shauna. She didn't understand how it happened, but what she really wanted to know was how they know. "Uh, yeah, but I came back, of course. How did you know that? And where's Ash?"

Clemont and Bonnie were uneasy still. "Well, we don't know, and we can pinpoint his location." Clemont went on. "He's off somewhere with, uh, what's her name."

"Who?" Serena demanded.

Bonnie answered quietly. "Her name's uh, Miette."

Serena looked at the two, then left.

Notes:

I didn't expect this story to flop like it did, but it ended up being too much to write. I apologize to anyone who was interested in this. It was a great experience so far, so why would I stop?

Truthfully, after actually watching the xy/xyz series I could easily point out many inaccuracies throughout each chapter. Even aside from that, the chapters were choppy, poorly formatted and overall extremely rough to write. I considered many options throughout this story (including Miette committing suicide but I decided against it).

So what's next? I'll continue writing The Secret Mega and I plan on starting some sort or school AU Amourshipping fic. That will be out in like a month from now, so if you're down for that be on the lookout.

I will upload one final chapter to (sort of?) wrap things up, and well, that will be the end. I was expecting this to be over 40 chapters of incredible, and I'm pretty sad it ended up flopping. Guess that's what I get for going on uneducated.

Please read Too Much though I think that one's pretty good.

-Tempo


	15. Lost footage

Him: The lost chapter

Earlier that day

Ash was in the Pokemon Center, training. The Anistar Showcase was huge, and he hadn't really gotten a chance to do any real training.

"Talonflame! Flame charge!"

Talonflame went into a ball of flames, quickly approaching Pikachu. Pikachu lept, dodging successfully. "Alright Pikachu! Nice job!"

Suddenly a blue-haired trainer walked in the room. "Um, I'm looking for Serena. Any chance you know where she is?"

Ash sighed. "Not a clue. Weird, I don't know where she's been. Why do you need to ask?"

Miette replied. "Well, bit of details for our bet. I'd like to change them, but I'd like to check with her first. You sure you have no idea?"

"I think, don't quote me on it, but I think she went to talk with Shauna. I heard about your bet. Who's the lucky guy?"

Miette jumped. "Uh, I think we're talking about something different. Must be a different bet…"

Ash laughed. "Don't worry about it. I've known both of you for a while. Whoever it is would be pretty lucky."

Miette blushed a little. "Aww, thanks. That means a lot. You know, I think I could tell you who it was"

Ash looked up. "Oh?"

"Well, to be completely honest, it's-"

"Me, right?"

"What?"

"Me." Ash said. "I'm pretty sure I figured it out. Wasn't hard. I figured it out really quickly."

Miette laughed. "Really quickly? That's a laugh. You're even dense with how dense you are."

Ash was confused. "What? I don't understand."

"Well," said Miette. "If we're being completely honest here, Serena's liked you for, basically, her entire life. As for me, as soon as I met you I knew you were the one. But Serena's making too much progress, and I want to see if I can shorten her time."

Ash sat there, quietly. He never really considered that Serena had a crush on him. He's acknowledged it before, but never really let it sink in until now. He wasn't sure how he thought about it. According to Clemont, he likes her back, but Ash wasn't sure if Clemont was right. Was he right? Ash tried to take his mind off the subject. "So you saw what happened in the Showcase, right?"

"Sure did," Miette answered. "Have you seen Serena since then?"

"No. No idea where she went. Do you?"

Miette was waiting for that question. "Well, I think she went back to talk to Shauna about, you know-"

"Yeah, I know."

Miette pretended to be surprised. "So do you think, if she isn't back yet, she ran off with Shauna? I mean, Shauna can be pretty convincing."

"You think so? I just don't think that would be a possibility."

Miette smiled. "Oh, come on think about it. Shauna and Serena are pretty similar. If anything, They guited each other into a relationship."

Ash thought about it. Serena was always so caring, so open-minded. Maybe she did. The thought stressed Ash, but he couldn't figure out why. "I-I think I need to go. Take a walk, you know, alone."

Miette laughed. "Come on, if you don't talk to anyone else, then it won't get dealt with. You need to talk to someone."

Ash started running out. "No! I don't!" Then he stopped. What was wrong with him?

Miette looked at him. Was he starting to have feelings? Was this plan going the wrong direction? Then Miette looked at him. He was always so upbeat, confident, ready to help. That last part got her. Miette realized, she wasn't always ready to help. If she truly loved Ash, then it had to come down to this. "Ash, you are clearly upset by something I said. Whatever it was, I'm sorry. I've really been just playing around. I-I think I'll go. And, uh if you see Serena, tell her the bet's off." Miette started for the door.

"Wait Miette!" Ash said. "You're right. I need help. I'm stressed out about Serena. What if Shauna took her away? What if I'm in the wrong for not seeing her right afterward? I'm just so confused. My heart and my brain, they don't agree. My brain always tells me to do smart things, well for the most part. It typically can analyze the scene, and deal with a situation. When I battle, I block everything else out. I focus on winning. That's why I was able to beat Alain. But now, my heart is taking over. I can't focus anymore. I don't get it." He stood up, and angrily threw his bag on the ground.

Flying out of it came Ash's plane ticket, for the Alola region, to leave a month from today. Ash picked it up and went to put it in his bag. Then he noticed something.

There were two tickets.

Miette looked at Ash. Ash looked at the tickets. The tickets sat there, unresponsive, because they were tickets, and tickets can't talk. Miette said, "Ash, let's go find Serena."

The two started running out, to be encountered by Clemont and Bonnie. "Where are you two going?" Clemont Asked. "It's getting pretty late, Miette, why don't you stay here?"

Ash and Miette hardly stopped. "We have to go! See you soon!"

Notes: Yes this is being discontinued. I hope this ties up any loose ends that weren't too frailed to fix up. I want to thank everyone for the support I've gotten so far, and hope to get it in upcoming fics. Thank you.


End file.
